Bezel cap



March 4, 1969 .1. E. ELLISON 3,430,377,

BEZEL CAP Filed July 5, 1967 {PW/[4,702. Jaye i [17/8014 Qr/zr fzr/ar United States Patent 3,430,377 BEZEL CAP Joseph E. Ellison, Amherst, Ohio, assignor to Standard Screw Company, Bellwood, 11]., a corporation of New ersey Filed July 3, 1967, Ser. No. 650,828

US. Cl. 40--332 Int. Cl. G09f 3/20 9 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention relates to a bezel cap for insertion in the recess of a faucet handle and in particular to a bezel cap providing means for various inserts to be included in the handle, such inserts being in the form of trademarks, designs, instructions or the like.

A primary purpose of the invention is a simply con structed bezel cap of the type described which may be easily inserted in a faucet handle.

Another purpose is a bezel cap construction of the type described including an outer bezel member, generally transparent, an indicia bearing member, and a nontransparent cap member which assembles the three pieces together as a unit.

Other purposes will appear in the ensuing specification, drawings and claims.

The invention is illustrated diagrammatically in the following drawings wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view showing a faucet handle with the bezel cap parts exploded,

FIGURE 2 is a side elevation of the bezel cap in partial half-section,

FIGURE 3 is a plan view of the cap member used to hold the bezel cap pieces together as a unit, and

FIGURE 4 is an exploded view of a modified form of bezel cap construction.

In FIGURE 1, a faucet housing is indicated generally at and may have a conventional spout 12. The invention should obviously not be limited to any particular type of faucet housing nor to any particular type of handle for the faucet housing. A handle member is indicated generally at 14 and includes a lower cylindrical portion 16 and an upper gripping portion 18 which may have a knurled surface 20. There is a pointer 22 on the handle periphery for use in adjusting the relative volumes of hot and cold water which the faucet is discharging. The handle 14 may have an outwardly opening recess 24 which receives a bezel cap to be described. As is conventional, there may be a screw or the like 26 or some other similar fastening means which is used to attach the handle 14 to the valve within the faucet housing.

As shown herein, the faucet is what is known as a single handle mixing faucet in that one member, whether it be a handle or lever, controls both the temperature and volume of the water. The bezel cap configuration disclosed herein should not be limited to such a faucet construc- 3,430,377 Patented Mar. 4, 1969 tion, or for that matter, to a faucet construction, as it has other applications, for example door knobs.

The bezel cap construction may include a bezel member 28, which is preferably transparent and of a relatively rigid material. For example, Lucite Acrylic Resin #140, a Du Pont product, has been found to be a satisfactory material for the bezel 28. This is a lens grade acrylic resin. It is important that the bezel member be transparent so that the indicia, to be described hereinafter, can be viewed from the outside. It is also important to have the bezel relatively rigid as it forms a part of the outside of the handle when it is positioned in recess 24. The bezel member 28 may have an annular groove 30, which is positioned on one side of an outer convex surface 32, which is the outer surface of the bezel. There is an annular generally fiat or planar surface 34 on the other side of the annular groove 30. Note that the periphery of the outer surface 32 extends radially beyond the interior surface 34. When the bezel cap is inserted within the recess 24 of the handle, the groove 30 will be masked or covered. In the form shown in FIGURES l, 2 and 3, the bezel may have a projection 36 generally in alignment with the groove 30.

There may be an indicia bearing member 38 having a design, for example a trademark, or instructions as to the proper use of the faucet, or any other information which the faucet manufacturer deems desirable to bring to the attention of the faucet user. Generally, the indicia bearing member 38 will be relatively thin and fiat.

A cap member is indicated at 40 and may be a nontransparent, relatively resilient plastic. For example, the Du Pont plastic known as Surlyn A has been found to be satisfactory for this purpose, This particular plastic is generally white in color and is sufficiently resilient so that it may be easily attached to the bezel member. The cap member 40 may have a main or body portion 42 and a flange or flange means 44, which may be a generally continuous annular flange, at its outer edge. Generally, the thickness of the body portion 42 will be greater than the thickness of the flange 44 so that the flange may be snapped into the groove 30 as indicated in FIGURE 2. The flange 44 may be curved so that it will fit around the lower portion of the bezel with the end of the flange being received in the groove 30. The indicia bearing member 38 may be adhesively secured to the cap member 40.

In FIGURE 3 there is a notch 46 in the flange of the cap member 40. The notch 46 will generally be in alignment with the projection 36 on the bezel for relative positioning of the members together.

FIGURE 4 indicates a modified form of the invention which is the same as that illustrated in FIGURES 1, 2 and 3, except for the absence of the notch 46 and the projection 36. This positioning combination is not necessary in all forms of the invention; however, it is particularly helpful in larger size bezel caps.

When the bezel cap construction is inserted in a recess, the outer peripheral surface of the resilient cap member, being the same size and shape as the recess, will be snugly received in the recess. The periphery of the outer surface 32, although generally of the size and shape of the recess, overlaps it.

In one form of the invention, the outer surface of the bezel member is convex. Again, this is not essential and this surface may be concave, fiat or it may take on any satisfactory configuration, consistent with design requirements. The precise shape of the groove 30 and the flange 44 is not essential, although generally it is important to have flange 44 curved or round so that it may easily fit within the groove 30.

The invention should not be limited to any particular type of plastic, although it is desirable to have the bezel member transparent so that the indicia bearing member may be seen from the outside. It is important to have the cap member resilient so that it will be tightly held in the recess 24 throughout a range of manufacturing tolerances of the recess. The cap, in addition to providing a push fit for the bezel, functions as a cover for the underside of the bezel itself.

It is not necessary in every application that there be a separate indicia forming member. For example, the underside of the bezel could be painted after a suitable design or other indicia has been hot-stamped in reverse on its underside. In such a situation the cap would not have to be non-transparent.

Whereas the preferred form of the invention has been shown and described herein, it should be realized that there are many modifications, substitutions and alterations thereto within the scope of the following claims.

Iclaim:

1. In a handle, a handle member having an outwardly opening recess, a bezel member formed of a transparent relatively rigid material, said bezel member having an outer surface and an annular groove spaced from said outer surface, said annular groove being masked by said handle member when said bezel is within said recess, said bezel member having an interior surface on the opposite side of said groove from said outer surface, an indicia bearing member positioned against said bezel interior surface, and a non-transparent relatively resilient cap member positioned against said indicia bearing member,

said cap member having resilient flange means, a portion of which extend into said groove, for assembling said bezel, indicia bearing member and cap as a unit, said cap member having an outer peripheral surface generally of the size and shape of said recess to be snugly received in said recess.

2. The structure of claim 1 further characterized in that said outer surface is generally convex, with said interior surface being generally flat.

3. The structure of claim 1 further characterized in that said groove extends circumferentially about said 4 bezel, with said flange means being generally circumferentially continuous.

4. The structure of claim 1 further characterized in that said cap means includes a generally planar main portion, with said resilient flange means curving away from said main portion.

5. The structure of claim 4 further characterized in that the thickness of said resilient flange means is less than the thickness of the main portion of the cap.

6. The structure of claim 1 further characterized in that said cap member flange means has a notch, a projection on the exterior of said bezel, in general alignment with said annular groove, with said projection being formed and adapted to mate with the notch in said cap member, for relative positioning.

7. The structure of claim 1 further characterized in that said indicia bearing member is adhesively secured to said cap member.

8. The structure of claim 1 further characterized in that said bezel outer surface extends radially outwardly beyond said bezel interior surface. I,

9. In a handle, a handle member having an outwardly opening recess, a bezel member formed of a transparent relatively rigid material, said bezel member having an outer surface and an annular groove spaced from said outer surface, said annular groove being masked by said handle member vwhen said bezel is within said recess, said bezel member having an interior surface on the opposite side of said groove from said outer surface, indicia means at said interior surface and visible from said outer surface, and a relatively resilient cap member having resilient flange means, a portion of which extends into said groove for securing said cap member to said bezel member adjacent its interior surface, said cap member having an outer peripheral surface of the size and shape of said recess to be snugly received in said recess.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,319,893 10/1919 Mueller et al. 40--332 1,848,526 3/ 1932 Heerwagen 40-331 2,120,058 6/ 193 8 Mitchel 40-332 3,313,057 4/ 1967 Leddy 40 -331 WILLIAM H. GRIEB, Primary Examiner. 

